Washington Office

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to release the first Order as part of its E-rate modernization proceeding. American Library Association (ALA) President Courtney Young released the following statement:

Today, higher education and library organizations representing thousands of colleges, universities, and libraries nationwide released a joint set of Net Neutrality Principles they recommend form the basis of an upcoming Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to protect the openness of the Internet. The groups believe network neutrality protections are essential to protecting freedom of speech, educational achievement, and economic growth.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), H.R. 803, in a bipartisan vote 415-6. The passage of the bill comes after the U.S. Senate passed this legislation on a 95-3 vote on June 25th.

The American Library Association (ALA) would like to give special thanks to Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) for their long time efforts to include libraries in this legislation.

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The American Library Association (ALA) and the Information Policy & Access Center (iPAC) at the University of Maryland College Park will gauge the quality of public access to the internet in our nation’s public libraries this summer.

Today, the American Library Association participated in an E-rate press call moderated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and was joined by several education and digital learning advocates. More than 4 million people visit America’s public libraries each day, and high-capacity broadband and WiFi-enabled connections are at the center of what our communities need to connect with a world of online resources.

LAS VEGAS—The ebooks conference session “ALA and Moving Ahead with Digital Content” will now take place on Saturday, June 28, 2014, from 1:30 to 2:40 p.m. in the Las Vegas Convention Center, room N255/257. Previously, the session was set to take place at 1:00 p.m.

WASHINGTON—On the first day of its 2014 Annual Conference in Las Vegas, the American Library Association (ALA) welcomes news (pdf) from Simon & Schuster that it will convert its pilot library ebook lending program to serve all U.S. libraries. ALA President Barbara Stripling released the following statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Fourth Amendment when they ruled in David Leon Riley v. State ofCalifornia and United States v. Brima Wurie that officers of the law must obtain warrants before they can search the cellphones of arrestees. In response to the victorious court decision, Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Washington Office, released the following statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Library Association (ALA) is rallying librarians to support the Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act of 2014, a bill that would prohibit paid prioritization over the Internet. Introduced today by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the legislation would prohibit Internet service providers from giving preferential treatment to the traffic of online content, applications, services, or devices.

ALA President Barbara Stripling responded today to the introduction of the net neutrality bill: